Spring seat



.Fam 28, 1936.

J. MERCOGLIANO SPRING SEAT Filed Oct.l 24, 1932 `2 Sheets-Sheet l 4. l EL u INVENTOR ATTORNEY J. MERCOGLIANO SPRING SEAT Jan. 28, 1936.

Patented Jan. 28, 1936 Y UNITED sTA'rEs PATENT OFFICE My invention relates to furniture and morev particularly refers to improvements in articles of furniture, such as chairs, sofas, hammocks, etc., which are adapted to seat one or more persons;V

VMy invention is more especially suitablefor use in connection with the construction of upholstered furniture and constitutes a simplification-and improvement over methods of construc- Ation heretofore in use.

,Upholstered chairs and sofas, such as are used in livingrooms, are generally provided with a spring seat, equipped with a cushion or cushions, which may form an integral part of the article of. furniture, but are generally separate and removable therefrom.

The cushion or cushions rest upon a spring foundation, Vwhich generally consists of a number of"spiral springs, vertically placed upon a 2,0V structure of fabric or webbing, securely fastened 'Ihis method of construction entails consider? able time and, labor and is, therefore, rather- 30, expensive. Furthermore, the various springs forming the spring bed for the cushion or Gush-: ions will in time get out of alinement or sag;

and will frequently become twisted and even pierce the fabric covering.l In fact, the entire 35, structure in time becomes loose or wabbly, alsobecause the webbing forming the foundation for the springs will stretch and tear or may become loose in places and cause the supporting surface directly under the cushion or cushions to become 4D, uneven and sag at Certain points.

The distortion and displacement of the springs is also frequently due to the fact that the weight and movements of the person sitting on the chair or sofa causes the springs to be deformed in 45. various directions and to generate tensional stresses-in the `cords with which the springs are tied and interconnected. Some of these cords Will eventually break under the strain and the springsv connected thereby, losing part, or all, of

5p their anchorage, will naturally tilt or twistto one side and lose their efficiency.

f The primary'object of thisinvention is to provide, in an article of furniture of the character specified, a resilient seat in which a relatively 5g; rigid frame is used in place of the `multiplicity cross member I3, two `front uprights I4,

of spiral` springs now used, said frame being re-` siliently mounted at the rear end, or both at the rear and front end. i

Another object is to provide a chair or sofaV A still further object is to improve and simplify the construction of articles of furniture of the character specied, so as to reduce their cost of manufacture, at the same time insuring comfort and long Wear.

VOther objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed inthe appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

` Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section of a chair or sofa, embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view in elevation thereof, showing the fabric covering partly broken away to show the interior;

, Fig. -3 is a horizontal section through the lower part of the chair shown in Fig. 1, illustrating a form of construction ofthe resilient cushion support;

Fig.l 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross section of a chair or sofa, embodying my'invention in a somewhat different form;

Fig. 5 is another fragmentary vertical cross section of avchair or sofa, showing another alternative embodiment of my invention; and

p Fig. 6 is a detail in vertical section, illustrating an alternative construction of guiding means for the resilient cushion support. n g

`Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, it will be seen that the arm chair therein illustrated comprises a skeleton structure formed by two rear uprights I0, II, joined by a, lower cross member I2 and an upper I5, joined by cross members I6, I1, andside braces I8, I9, 20, connecting the front to the rear uprights.

l The rear frame also comprises an anchoring cross member 2|, provided with a plurality of spring attachments, such as 22, and a cross member 23, acting as a stop or abutment for the resilient seat frame 24.

Said seat frame may consist of a front slat 25, a rear slat 26 and two side slats 21, 28, forming therewith a substantially rectangular. frame, having an opening 29, which in itself permits a certain yielding of the cushion, which is placed inner ends of said straps being spaced from each other and being joined by a spring, such as 34. A partly resilient cushion support, therefore, results.

The seat frame is supported at the front by a number of spiral springs 35, placed upon cross members I6, I1, and is provided at the rear with spring attachments, suchas 36, adapted to receive one end of suspension springs 31, said suspension springs being attached at the other end to attachment 22.

Springs 31 are normally under tension and hold the rear end of the seat frame against cross member 23, as Fig. 1, clearly shows.

The rear slat 26 of the seat frame is formed with two recesses 38, 39, registering with vertical guide members 40, extending at the rear between cross'member I2 and cross member 2|. Said guide members prevent lateral displacement of the seat frame' and also prevent tilting movements thereof, so as to limit said frame to movements in a purely vertical plane. Rear uprights I 0, II, are formed with the usual extensions, such as 4I, above the elbow side members I8, said extensions forming the skeleton o'f the back of the chair. Y a in the usual `manner by forming a basket weave fabric at the rear by means of transversal and vertical webbing sections 42,` 43, secured to both of the uprights, and to cross members I3, 2|, and placing a plurality of spiral springs',- such as 44, between said fabric and the front padding 45 and covering46 of the chair back.

It will be seen that by virtue of this construction, the seat frame is resiliently supported at the front and resiliently'susp'ended at the' rear, thus providing a resilient support for the cushionl 30. Furthermore, it will be seen that'the supports formed by straps 3|, 32 and springs 34 will of themselves provide a yielding support for a cushion, with respect to the supporting frame.

In this manner, the seat frame will freely yield under the weight of the occupant of the seat and provide a maximum of comfort,` while at the same time a sturdy and durable construction will result.

The seat frame vis preferably anchored to the rear of the chair by braces, suchas, for instance, webbing sections 41, stretching from rear cross member I2` of the chair frame to the front slat 25 of the seat frame, so as to prevent the possibility of said seat frame shifting towards the front when impelled to do so by movements of the occupants body.

The construction just described provides what is known as a spring edge for the front of the seat. If desired, however, the resilient action of the seat frame can be limited to the rear end The chair back may be constructed*- thereof, and in this case, the front of said frame may be mounted on hinges or on a pivot, constituted by a cross bar, such as 48, as shown in Fig. 4. When such a construction is adopted, the use'of guide members 40 can be dispensed with, because the cross bar 48 will automatically prevent shifting movements of the seat from front to rear and lateral tilting movement thereof, insuring proper alinement of the seat at all times.

Although I preferto use suspension springs at the rear, such as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, it is possible to provide a fairly satisfactory action by means of supporting spiral springs, such as shown at 49'-, in Fig. 5, said spiral springs being interposed between the rear slat of the cushion supporting frame and cross bars I2', extending close to the lower end of and between the rear uprights.

The construction of the chair can also be modified in other respects; for instance,'instead of providing the rear slat of the cushion supporting frame with recesses, such asy 38, 39, the same can be provided with openings, such as shown at 50 in Fig. 6, said openings being preferably equipped with bushings, such as 5I, and guide bars, such as 52, inserted through said bushings may be fastened between frame elements I2-` and 2-I, as shown.

Instead of spiral springs 49, shown in Fig. 5, it is possible to use springs of the type Vshown at 53l in Fig. 1. In practice, I prefer to use two of said springs 53, one at each corner, in addition to the suspension springs 31, as shown, although it will be understood that for the purpose of the invention it is not strictly necessary to do so.

As stated in the premises, the application of, my invention is not limited to chairs and sofas,

but can also be extended to hammocks and similar other articles of furniture. It will'also be understood that although I have shown the frame structure formed by' slats 25, 26', 21, 28', as a cushion supporting frame, it is within the scope l. In a chair or like Varticle of furniture com` prising a 'frame having front and rear leg members, a cross member extending between said front leg members, and a rear c-ross member extending between said rear leg members, a seat frame resiliently mounted both at the front and rear, with respect to said cross members, and a vertical sliding slot and tongue interlockingconnection between the rear end of said seat frame and said chair frame, preventing lateral displacement of said seat frame, while allowing unhampe'red angular displacement thereof in a vertical plane about an axis substantially coinciding with the front end of said seat frame. Y

2. In a chair or like article of furniture comprising a frame having front and rear leg members, a cross member extending between said front leg members, and a rear cross member extending between said rear leg members, a seat frame resiliently mounted with respect to said chair frame, a substantially vertical slot at the rear of said seat frame, and a. guiding member forwardly extending from the rear of said chair frame, interlocking with said slot and preventing lateral displacement of said seat frame, while allowing unhampered angular displacementv thereof in a `vertical plane about an axis substantially coinciding with the front end of said seat frame.- -1

3. In a chair or like article of furniture comprising a frame having front and rear leg members, a cross member extending between said front leg members, and a rear cross member extendingbetween said rear leg members, a seat frame resiliently mounted with respect to said chair frame, a guiding member forwardly extending from the rear of said chair frame, interlocking with said slot and preventing lateral displacement of said seat frame, while allowing unhampered angular displacement thereof in a vertical plane about an axis substantially coinciding with the front end of said seat frame, and a stop cross member extending between said rear leg members, preventing said seat frame from being raised by said springs beyond a certain predetermined point.

4. In a chair or like article of furniture comprising a frame having front and rear leg members, a cross member extending between said front leg members, and a rear cross member extending between said rear leg members, a seat frame resiliently mounted both at the front and rear, with respect to said cross members, a vertical sliding slot and tongue interlocking connection between the rear end of said seat frame and said chair frame, preventing lateral displacement of said seat frame, while allowing unhampered angular displacement thereof in a vertical plane about an axis substantially coinciding with the front end of said seat frame, and a strip member attached under the front of said seat frame and anchored to the rear of said chair frame preventing forward displacement of said seat frame.

JERRY MERCOGLIANO. 

